BREAKING NEWS: HEAT LOSE THE GAME DUE TO LEBRON NOT PLAYING TOWARDS THE END. MORE ABOUT LEBRON PLUS THE HEAT INDEX COMING UP. WE GRADE EVERY PLAYER ON THE HEAT PLUS THEIR WATER BOY - DID HE COME UP SHORT? YEAH HE DID, LEBRON CRAMPED UP FROM A LACK OF WATER! HE GET'S A D+.

just got back from the game. seriously you have NO idea how hot it was in there. people weren't fainting from heat stroke or anything, but it noticeably affected the crowd & players. think we found our new defensive strategy...

After watching this game with Mark Jackson as commentator, I absolutely understand why the Warriors decided to let him go. He's a motivational speaker not a tactician. He continuously mentions what he would tell the players in this or that situation, and it always revolves around effort or heart. Which is good to have, but that won't help you score a bucket when it's tied at the end of a game.

Can we give it up for the refs tonight? They let the guys play, not too many blown calls other than that tip-in by LeBron. I'm glad they didn't get in the way of the game like the other games we've seen. They always get shit on during badly called games (as they should) but they deserve credit for doing a good job tonight.

Edit: joking aside, PLEASE DO NOT WATCH FIRST TAKE TOMORROW (OR EVER). These tweets (posted above) cross the line between being a troll (which he's been for a long time) and being disrespectful to the spirit of competitive sports. He's done a lot of obnoxious shit, but mocking someone for being injured and helplessly watching his teammates lose is beyond the fucking pale. Eat shit Skip Bayless.

I know everybody is going to talk about the a/c failure, the heat in the arena, and LeBron's injury, but I kept reminding myself throughout the whole 4th quarter that Manu Ginobili never left the game during the 4th. I don't know when's the last time Pop left Manu out there for a whole quarter.

Ya, everyone played in that fucking sweltering arena. Anyone could have gotten cramps but it looked like only LBJ did. Perhaps the trainers weren't on top of the rehydration as much as they should have been.

It's unfair for Lebron to get criticism for sitting down. He couldn't walk! He wouldn't be useful out there with cramps anyway.

That being said I think it's also unfair for everyone to dismiss this win and take away credit from the Spurs. They were shooting really well at the 4th and they were playing in the same conditions as the Heat. And even with Lebron out, they still had a team out there. If anyone from the Spurs sits out because they had to, I wouldn't blame their absence for a loss. It might be a factor, but basketball is a team sport.

People that talk shit like that have never had one of those cramps. You can have all the willpower in the world, if your muscle is so tense it resembles a rock, you are not going anywhere. That shit hurts like hell.

worst thing is that many people that are hating probably have had those cramps before doing a lot less strenuous things. Man is running a 100% for 35 odd minutes in 90 degree heat playing a physical game. Shit happens

Am I the only one who puts at least partial blame on Coach Spo? He had to realize earlier that LeBron was struggling with the heat and rotate the players more, sit him more. Sure, that's really easy to say in hindsight and it's not all on him, stuff just happens, but LeBron asked out twice. He can't be expected to put in a typical 44 minutes in those conditions...

That said, can't blame LeBron too much for the injury at the end, the only thing you can even try to blame him for is putting himself back in too early. Overall, the Spurs took control, stopped turning it over, and the Heat's morale and energy fell off completely when LeBron went out.

Even if you're a Spurs fan, you have to agree that Skip's current tweets about Lebron are fucking ridiculous. Dude probably burns more muscle mass than anyone else during the game, and anyone's who's had a really bad cramp knows exactly how impossible it is to play competitively.

I feel bad for James. He's going to take a bunch of criticism for this but how the hell are you suppose to be productive when you can't even walk properly. I'm sure he would rather prefer to sit down in game 1 than risk a possible series ending injury. Also if you can't move properly you can't play defence properly and are just hurting your own team at that point.

Mark Jackson said something like "the greats ones tell their bodies not now" when Bron called to be benched in the 4th. That's kind of what makes Lebron great. He thinks like a coach. Rather than pushing through, he thinks, "Let me sit down and cool off and I'll be good for crunch time." Unfortunately, he rushed back in, cramped up, and it didn't work in his favor, but he deserves respect for that decision, not ridicule.

I thought it was pretty dumb when Jackson said that, but it's understandable that a former player said this (tend to be hyper-competitive). Lots of guys have seriously changed their careers by forcing themselves to play hurt, and it's just dumb to do. And I don't think you can just power through cramps, it's not like other pain. If you can't really control your muscles, you can't just play through it.

Not gonna lie, LeBron doesn't cramp up, we lose the game on turnovers. Gonna be a whole different game 2.

EDIT: Let me explain what I mean by LeBron going out loses the game. The second he goes out the Heat stop playing. Look at the last few minutes. Heat walking around half speed because they gave up. Wade and Bosh scored almost 20 pts each. They play like they want to win, they win. LeBron went out and took the will to win with him.